When the Mets signed Juan Soto to the largest free agent deal in history last year, many assumed that the move marked the end of the Pete Alonso era in Queens. After taking the National League by storm with a 2019 campaign in which he hit 53 home runs to break Aaron Judge’s rookie home run record, the first baseman had been one of the Senior Circuit’s best mashers, but due to his age (he was entering his age-30 season), his weak defense, and the fact that first base/DH types have been generally devalued
on the free agent market over the last few seasons, it looked like Queens had turned the page and decided to turn first base over to Mark Vientos and Brett Baty. But February came, the Polar Bear remained on the market — yet another victim of Scott Boras’ inability to properly assess the market for anyone except Soto in recent seasons — and Steve Cohen folded, giving the fan favorite a pillow contract with an opt-out after the season.
And boy, did Alonso take advantage of that season, putting together his strongest campaign since 2019 en route to his first career Silver Slugger. On the back of that campaign, Alonso declared he was opting out of his contract as soon as the Mets’ season ended, well before he had to, and that he would hit the market for the second straight winter.
2025 Statistics: 162 games, 709 PA, .272/.347/.524, 38 HR, 41 doubles, 126 RBI, 141 wRC+, -9 DRS, -9 OAA, 3.4 rWAR, 3.6 fWAR
2026 FanGraphs Depths Charts Projections: 157 games, 640 PA, .250/.334/.485, 36 HR, 103 RBI, 125 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR
At this point in his career, Alonso is who he is: a guy with prodigious power, who strikes out his fair share of the time, and who is better suited to serve as a designated hitter than he is as a first baseman. The things he does well, he does very well. Since 2019, only Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber have hit more home runs, his 132 wRC+ ranks 19th among the 418 qualifying hitters, and his 14.9 hard hit percentage ranks 16th. The things he does not do well, on the other hand, he’s among the worst in the league. Only six players have accrued fewer Outs Above Average than Alonso’s -33 during that same span, and while Defensive Runs Saved is higher on him, it still doesn’t like him (-7 DRS, which is the 18th worst). Among this winter’s free agents, only Schwarber is clearly a better hitter than Alonso…and among free agents, Schwarber is also the only one who is clearly a worse fielder.
Because of this, the Yankees do not seem a good fit for Alonso at first glance, and honestly, at second glance as well: After all, they already have a first baseman with a strong bat but a lackluster glove in Ben Rice, a designated hitter who can barely play the field in Giancarlo Stanton, and a right fielder who should probably get more DH days in Judge. Where is there room for yet another first base/DH type?
Well, let’s take a step back for a moment and remember our recent history. Back in 2021, the Los Angeles Dodgers had Max Muncy at first base, and he posted a 139 wRC+ and 4.5 fWAR. What did they do that winter? They did not let that stop them from signing the player who was arguably the best hitter on the market in Freddie Freeman. And how did that work out? Despite battling injuries, he took his game to the next level and was a key reason the Dodgers won back-to-back World Series titles. Now, Alonso is nowhere on the same level as Freeman — the Dodgers first baseman also plays great defense, and is speedy by first base standards — but the lesson remains the same: championship teams don’t reject good players out of hand because they already have internal options, they see if they can make things work.
As currently constructed, Alonso would be competing with both Rice and Stanton for reps. But are both players a reason not to pursue him? While I am high on Rice, he does only have one strong season under his belt, and there is no shortage of promising youngsters who ultimately failed to establish themselves as longterm starters (Greg Bird, Luke Voit, Gary Sánchez, Miguel Andújar, Clint Frazier, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza). Stanton, meanwhile, has dealt with injuries as a matter of course, and frankly, both his elbows and legs will be something to watch for the rest of his career. There exists a very real future in which the Yankees consciously pass on Alonso due to the presence of Rice and Stanton, only for injuries and a sophomore slump to leave the team seeking a first base/DH type to provide some pop down the stretch. And should everybody be healthy and performing — well, Rice can also share time behind the plate with Austin Wells, and if everybody from that expanded group is healthy and performing… well, those are the types of problems championship contenders need to have if they want to win.
